Memorial and Bereavement Items

We're here to help our clients who have lost a loved one with our unique handheld creations made from either domestic or exotic hardwoods and burls. Each item is intended to be engraved with the loved one's given name and the years of their life span and may include a symbol meaningful to the client. Please see our Catalog page for individual item descriptions. 

We have found that there are five aesthetic groups which appeal to our clients:

• High chatoyance woods - these items have an iridescent "shimmer" that corresponds with "the light of the wood" story described here and is very meaningful to our customers experiencing grief. Maple, sapele, and walnut are usually sought  
• Mended woods -  some of our hand crafted items honor the Japanese art of kintsugi, where mended areas of an item are highlighted to remind the owner that our lives become more meaningful because of our scars. Cherry burl is an excellent choice for this aesthetic
• Storied woods - woods with religious or spiritual connections. Olivewood and white oak are mostly selected
• Highly figured woods - any wood with an intricate or unusual grain pattern. These items are consistent with the Chinese aesthetic of Li, or invisible grain — the natural order which gives that wood (and or lives) beauty and purpose.
• Burls - these are the rare and spectacular scar tissues that form on trees that have recovered from injury or disease. Oak, maple and various Australian species are usually selected